Wednesday, December 26, 2018

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Stamford Park in Stalybridge.

This year has flown by and we've made visits to 64 more courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. One of those courses was local to us and a real bonus to find.

As we have been busy exploring our new local area since moving north in the summer of 2016 we've checked out local villages, towns and cities and also had a look at a number of parks in the area to see what we can visit. While looking at the Ashton-under-Lyne area we spotted what looked to be the outline of a minigolf course.

On the 4th February we finally made some time to visit Stalybridge to look for the Crazy Golf course there. We're glad we did.

The 9th hole of the abandoned Crazy Golf course in Stamford Park, Stalybridge - it was a unique layout!

The abandoned Crazy Golf course became the 797th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We're now up to 859 course visits on our travels since September 2006.

The term 'ham and egger' has connotations ranging from that of 'ordinary person' to that of 'loser'. The origin of the term comes from prize fighters whose modest skills wouldn’t let them win large purses. Therefore, the fighter or their manager - who received a percentage of purses won - were never able to afford to eat better than ham and eggs.

Since that first post I have gone on to publish 2,933 posts! Most of them have been about minigolf.

Our interest in minigolf and what would soon become our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour had actually begun on the 30th September 2006, but I didn't publish a post about the sport until the 29th January 2007 when I announced that I had joined the British Minigolf Association - a competition circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April 2007.

A BIG thank you goes out to everyone who has ever read one of my posts, commented, shared, or guest blogged on the site, it's very much appreciated.

Emily and I are happy to hear about new minigolf courses, new sports and games, new places to visit and interesting things to write about. Get in touch if you have any ideas or suggestions for future posts.

The third Friday in December is the day to celebrate and honour unsung heroes, the second best among us and life’s runners-up. Not to forget those people that have made a name for themselves against the odds.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Finding a rare Crazy Golf postcard.

As a keen postcard collector I'm always on the lookout for new views of miniature golf courses and while at the December postcard fair in Stockport I found something of a holy grail in the world of minigolf postcards.

The Eternit Miniature Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Village. This Photo Precision Limited postcard was sent on the 8th July 1977

Not only is the card a full view of a Crazy Golf course, but it also has a message on the back about playing Crazy Golf! In the thousands of minigolf postcards I've got this is one of only a few that mentions playing the game and the only one specifically saying "Crazy Golf".

The sender was having quite the holiday in Prestatyn by the sound of it - playing Crazy Golf every day!

The Grand Hotel is now The Beaches Hotel. Sadly the Crazy Golf course is long gone. On our last holiday in Prestatyn we popped into the hotel bar for a drink. The patio area there has a nice sea view.

A view of the area in front of the hotel. The plot of land between the hotel and Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park is now a car park

Somewhat controversially the 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' was anything but. With a range of characters talking about their hobbies, pursuits and interests the group could've spent a long time sharing stories and ideas.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

A visit to Puttshack indoor minigolf at Westfield London.

While on a recent trip down to London I swung by Puttshack at Westfield London. The course is a new concept in miniature golf and features four 9-hole indoor minigolf courses featuring new technology to show real-time leader-boards, video highlights and interactive holes.

The venue was in full swing on my visit with plenty of Christmas parties going on in the large venue.

I didn't have time for a round on the interesting minigolf concept on this occasion.

Puttshack is a joint venture between ping pong venue Bounce and TopGolf. There are plans for more Puttshack courses to open in the City of London and Lakeside in Essex.